The problem of obtaining accurate foot measurements has existed since man first started to wear shoes. Many devices of varying degrees of complexity have been proposed over the years for providing two-dimensional measurements of length and width of the human foot in order to provide appropriately fitted shoes and insoles. Representative of such devices is that of Charles Brannock, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,725,334. Brannock's device, familiar to anyone who has ever visited a shoe store, basically consists of two slides mounted on an indexed base plate to determine the length and width of the foot.
Since Brannock's day the technology has improved, providing pressure sensors and light sensitive sensors of various types to measure the length and the width of the foot. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,395 is presented a system that improves somewhat on the existing foot measurement systems. The system disclosed in this patent utilizes a combination of a pressure pad assembly for each foot surrounded by a linear array of infrared LEDs located around the perimeter on two sides of each pressure pad and two corresponding arrays of phototransistors acting as detectors on the opposing sides. The length and width measurements are determined by combining information provided by the pressure pad with the data from the infrared arrays indicating which of the optical paths are blocked by the foot placed between the emitters and the receivers. This system additionally has matrices of emitters and corresponding detectors to give height information at selected locations along the perimeter of the foot. The large numbers of LEDS and phototransistors make the measuring apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,395 an expensive device.
The field of retail shoe stores is an intensely competitive one in which each store owner must be able to provide a high level of service in order to achieve and maintain his share of the market. Part of providing such service would be to make available to his customers a system, for measuring their feet and using these measurements to supply good fitting shoes. In order to be able to provide this service, the measuring apparatus must be durable, reliable, and easy to operate; must provide accurate, easy to interpret results; and must be relatively inexpensive to purchase and operate.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus for measuring the length and width of the human foot.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus for measuring the length and width of a human foot that is easy to operate.
It is yet another purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus for measuring the length and width of a human foot that is relatively inexpensive to purchase and to operate.
Further purposes and advantages of this invention will appear as the description proceeds.